Pickwick and Wilson Lakes are teaming with fish and the Muscle Shoals area has become one of the hottest destinations for anglers in the Southeast! (“What the heck, one of the best in the entire U.S!”)

Pickwick Lake and Wilson Lake, created within a twisting stretch of the Tennessee River in northwest Alabama and northeast Mississippi, offer an array of the most popular species of fresh-water game fish, including tournament-sized largemouth and smallmouth bass, striped bass and crappie.

You’ll also discover catfish of legendary size! These lakes are sanctioned by several professional tournament circuits. (Read more in our Tournament News)

Anglers tell us that Pickwick is in top form, with numerous 10-pounds-plus largemouth bass and 7-pounds-plus smallmouth bass being caught this year. Wilson is also good in condition and producing plenty of big bass. Big crappie and catfish are also being caught on both lakes.

These lakes, created by the Tennessee Valley Authority, provide a diverse fish habitat. A deep river channel centers each lake and the submerged terrain, once bottom lands and rugged bluffs, creates a challenging course. You’ll enjoy the chase, but best of all, you will enjoy the catch!

Colbert County, on the south side of the Tennessee River and its world-class lakes, offers lodging that caters to anglers and their families. Throughout the cities of Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, and Tuscumbia, Alabama, you’ll find appealing tourist attractions, parks, recreational opportunities including golf, and everyone’s favorite – food! Restaurants in the Muscle Shoals area feature all sorts of dining experiences from the most informal cafés with home-style cooking to fine dining that is second-to-none.

There are plenty of public boat ramps where anglers can launch their boats for free and hotels that have outside plugins for recharging boat batteries. We are a fisherman's paradise.

We invite you to come to fish and while you’re here, we want you to have fun.

Fishing Show Lures Anglers to Colbert

The Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau staff is gearing up to field lots of questions about fishing in Pickwick and Wilson lakes.

The 2015 season of Timmy Horton Outdoors, begins December 30 and features twelve episodes filmed on Pickwick and Wilson lakes. In addition, Horton, a professional angler from Muscle Shoals, will host four episodes of the Bass Pros Television Series that were filmed on the lakes.

According to Susann Hamlin, executive director of Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau, the popular television shows always bring anglers from around the nation flocking to the Shoals.

“Every time Tim has a show where he was fishing on one of our lakes, we are flooded with calls and emails from people who want to come to Colbert County to go fishing,” Hamlin said. “His shows provide a big boost to our efforts to promote tourism in Colbert County.”

The 2015 season of Timmy Horton Outdoors kicks off Tuesday, December 30 on Pursuit Channel, Friday, January 2 on NBC Sports and Saturday, January 10 on World Fishing Network. The Bass Pros series is shown on Outdoor Channel.

“We’ve put together some great shows for the new season. Our fans are going to be very pleased,” Horton said.

Timmy Horton Outdoors is popular with anglers of all skill levels who tune in for tips on how to catch more and bigger bass. The shows are taped on lakes and rivers that open to the public for fishing.

“Watching Timmy Horton Outdoors helps you become a better angler,” said Ronald DeFreitas of Virginia. “Every week Timmy shows us the techniques that he uses to catch bass on the tournament trail and explains in detail how recreational and tournament anglers can use the same technique.” See Article Courier Journal

Pickwick and Wilson lakes ranked among America’s best

Local anglers tout Pickwick and Wilson lakes as two of the best places in the country to fish for largemouth and smallmouth bass.

A leading fishing website agrees. In its listing of the top 100 bass lakes in America, Fishhound.com ranked Pickwick 15th and Wilson 45th. California-based Fishound.com is one of the most popular outdoor and travel websites. Noted outdoor writer Mike Pehanic compiled the listing of top lakes after consulting professional anglers, bass tournament organizations, and veteran outdoors journalists.

Tennessee River bass fishing guide Cameron Gautney of Muscle Shoals, was not surprised Pickwick and Wilson were listed among the top bass lakes in America.

“There are some lakes where you can catch big largemouth and others where you can catch big smallmouth. At Pickwick and Wilson you can catch both. You might catch a 7-pound largemouth and then catch a 5-pound smallmouth on the very next cast,” Gautney said.

Pro angler and outdoors television personality Tim Horton, of Muscle Shoals, also sings the praises of Pickwick and Wilson lakes. “They are amazing lakes. Pickwick is right there at the top of the best lakes in the country and Wilson is close behind.”

Guntersville Lake was ranked atop the Fishhound.com list, with Lake Okeechobee in Florida, Clear Lake in California, Falcon Lake in Texas and Lake Erie/Niagara River in New York and Ontario rounding out the Top 5.

Gautney said Wilson and Pickwick lakes should have been ranked higher in the fishhound.com listing.